One type of door handle assembly being utilized on a number of current automotive vehicles includes an escutcheon which is secured to the door structure and is provided with a pair of laterally spaced openings. A pull type door handle is located within the escutcheon and has a pair of hinge arms which extend through the openings in the escutcheon for pivotal support by a pair of pins mounted in support arms integrally formed with the back surface of the escutcheon. A spring is located between one of the hinge arms and one of the support arms for normally maintaining the door handle within the escutcheon and for returning the door handle into the escutcheon after it has been pulled outwardly for opening the door.
A door handle assembly of the type described above can be made of a plastic material or a metallic material. When made of either of these materials, it is important to assure that the hinge arms of the door handle and also the support arms formed with the escutcheon maintain parallelism and dimensional stability so the main parts of the door handle assembly fit properly together and provide uniform clearances and gaps in the outer appearance area of the assembly. It has been found that maintaining parallelism and dimensional stability of the arms can be a problem when the door handle components are made of a thermoplastic material, and the problem can arise during the manufacture of the components and particularly during the molding and painting of the components.
In this regard, during the molding operation, retraction of the pins forming the hinge openings in the pivot arms of the door handle components (which occurs when the part is at temperature of approximately 220 degrees Fahrenheit) can result in a loss of parallelism of the pivot arms. In addition, during the cooling phase of the molded component, high internal stresses can occur at the juncture of the arms with the main base portion of the door handle component where the shape of the part has a marked change in section. These internal stresses will tend to be relieved when the components pass through the high temperature heating oven which serves to dry and cure the paint during the painting operation of the part. As a consequence, the pivot arms can warp causing a further loss of parallelism with resultant misalignment as described above of the finished door handle components when assembled.